Man executed for murder, rape of 11-year-old girl

Halifax Media Services

Published: Thursday, July 10, 2014 at 10:36 p.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, July 10, 2014 at 10:36 p.m.

STARKE — Twenty years, four months and six days after Eddie Wayne Davis kidnapped, raped and suffocated 11-year-old Kimberly Ann Waters in Lakeland, he died in the state's execution chamber Thursday at Florida State Prison.

It took the state 11 minutes to take his life.

He murmured prayers as the state's execution team prepared to execute him, his eyes darting around the chamber. Leather straps secured him to the table, with his left arm outstretched for the lethal injection.

Davis, 45, had no last words.

As the lethal drugs flowed into Davis' vein, Crystal Waters joined friends in a vigil for her younger sister at her Lakeland gravesite.

"I'm relieved it's over," she said later Thursday evening. "I just hope now we can remember Kimberly and her life, not her death."

Prison officials were notified at 5:45 p.m. Thursday that the U.S. Supreme Court had denied Davis' last appeal.

Despite the last-minute efforts by his lawyers to halt the execution out of fear that a possible blood disorder combined with the injected drugs would cause Davis extreme pain, he showed no signs of discomfort. Two minutes after beginning the lethal injection, the unidentified execution leader leaned into Davis, appearing to check for consciousness. A minute later, Davis' mouth fell open slightly and he began breathing heavily.

Four minutes after the process began, Davis' breath grew shallow and he became very still.

At 6:43 p.m., 11 minutes after the lethal injection began and after a physician's examination, the execution leader announced that the sentence against Davis had been carried out.

Behind a glass window, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd and Assistant State Attorney John Aguero, who prosecuted Davis in 1995, sat among the 23 witnesses who watched as the state took Davis' life.

"When I saw his breathing starting to get labored," Aguero said, "all I could think about was Kimberly."

"That poor child had to be terrified," he said, recalling how she was suffocated, "and here he was, unconscious, and didn't know he was dying."

Davis, who had dated Kimberly's mother, kidnapped the girl from her Lakeland home on March 4, 1994, while her mother, a nurse, was working the night shift and her old sister, Crystal, slept in a nearby room. He brutally raped her at a vacant mobile home and forced her to walk to the nearby Moose Lodge in Lakeland. She fought him when he suffocated her with a piece of plastic bag. He threw her body in a trash bin, and Polk sheriff's deputies found her the next night.

Davis confessed three times, and detectives found her blood on his boot, according to court records.

Twelve jurors deliberated 32 minutes before finding him guilty, and they unanimously recommended he should die for his crimes. Circuit Judge Daniel True Andrews upheld that recommendation.

His family has declined comment on his case.

Thomas Brimer, Kimberly's uncle, was among four relatives who watched her killer die Thursday. Her mother, Beverly, died 10 years ago in a motorcycle accident.

<p>STARKE — Twenty years, four months and six days after Eddie Wayne Davis kidnapped, raped and suffocated 11-year-old Kimberly Ann Waters in Lakeland, he died in the state's execution chamber Thursday at Florida State Prison.</p><p>It took the state 11 minutes to take his life.</p><p>He murmured prayers as the state's execution team prepared to execute him, his eyes darting around the chamber. Leather straps secured him to the table, with his left arm outstretched for the lethal injection.</p><p>Davis, 45, had no last words.</p><p>As the lethal drugs flowed into Davis' vein, Crystal Waters joined friends in a vigil for her younger sister at her Lakeland gravesite.</p><p>"I'm relieved it's over," she said later Thursday evening. "I just hope now we can remember Kimberly and her life, not her death."</p><p>Prison officials were notified at 5:45 p.m. Thursday that the U.S. Supreme Court had denied Davis' last appeal.</p><p>Despite the last-minute efforts by his lawyers to halt the execution out of fear that a possible blood disorder combined with the injected drugs would cause Davis extreme pain, he showed no signs of discomfort. Two minutes after beginning the lethal injection, the unidentified execution leader leaned into Davis, appearing to check for consciousness. A minute later, Davis' mouth fell open slightly and he began breathing heavily.</p><p>Four minutes after the process began, Davis' breath grew shallow and he became very still.</p><p>At 6:43 p.m., 11 minutes after the lethal injection began and after a physician's examination, the execution leader announced that the sentence against Davis had been carried out.</p><p>Behind a glass window, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd and Assistant State Attorney John Aguero, who prosecuted Davis in 1995, sat among the 23 witnesses who watched as the state took Davis' life.</p><p>"When I saw his breathing starting to get labored," Aguero said, "all I could think about was Kimberly."</p><p>"That poor child had to be terrified," he said, recalling how she was suffocated, "and here he was, unconscious, and didn't know he was dying."</p><p>Davis, who had dated Kimberly's mother, kidnapped the girl from her Lakeland home on March 4, 1994, while her mother, a nurse, was working the night shift and her old sister, Crystal, slept in a nearby room. He brutally raped her at a vacant mobile home and forced her to walk to the nearby Moose Lodge in Lakeland. She fought him when he suffocated her with a piece of plastic bag. He threw her body in a trash bin, and Polk sheriff's deputies found her the next night.</p><p>Davis confessed three times, and detectives found her blood on his boot, according to court records.</p><p>Twelve jurors deliberated 32 minutes before finding him guilty, and they unanimously recommended he should die for his crimes. Circuit Judge Daniel True Andrews upheld that recommendation.</p><p>His family has declined comment on his case.</p><p>Thomas Brimer, Kimberly's uncle, was among four relatives who watched her killer die Thursday. Her mother, Beverly, died 10 years ago in a motorcycle accident.</p><p>"It's finally over," Brimer said. "We finally have justice."</p>